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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26753044">Rangi and her Avatar</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/thereisasong18/pseuds/thereisasong18'>thereisasong18</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Rise of Kyoshi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst?, Canon Compliant, F/F, Gen, I Don't Even Know, I Just Wanted Rangi's POV, My First Fanfic, Rangi's POV</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 12:27:53</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,002</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26753044</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/thereisasong18/pseuds/thereisasong18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Three Rangshi-centric scenes from the book rewritten from Rangi's point of view.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kyoshi/Rangi (Avatar)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>100</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Rangi and her Avatar</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>All dialogue credit to F.C. Yee. This is my first ever fanfic so I wanted to try something simple before writing a storyline all my own (plus I have no imagination). Hope you all like it! I also wrote it in a day and didn't get a beta so it may be a mess but I just wanted to throw something out there for the new Avatar ship that owns my head. </p>
<p>Also I'm new to A03 formatting and some things got messed up. There should be more spacing and all my italics were left out. I'll learn.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Rangi couldn’t understand it. In the academy, you learned to stand your ground. To fight, if needed. To never let yourself be subjected to the shame and dishonor of losing. And yet, though Kyoshi was fully capable of ending whoever decided to pick a fight with her, she never did. She just…let them hurt her. It drove Rangi insane, watching the girl get bullied and exploited, while Kyoshi never seemed annoyed at all. So Rangi decided that she would be the one who watched over Kyoshi and made sure she wouldn’t be seriously hurt, since she wouldn’t do it herself. Though she knew her primary task was guarding the Avatar, and though she embraced that task with every fiber of her being, she just couldn’t leave Kyoshi like that. She couldn’t bear to watch the girl leave herself so open to attack. And eventually, as she watched over Kyoshi from afar, she learned why Kyoshi never bothered to stand up for herself. She learned why Kyoshi always stayed down, stayed calm, and stayed neutral. And it hurt Rangi to watch. It hurt her to know that Kyoshi only saw herself as a burden, as unloved, and as nothing more than a servant. Rangi told herself it only hurt because she felt badly for the girl. However, she continued to keep an eye on Kyoshi, and what she saw was enough to give her headaches every day on behalf of her friend.</p>
<p>Today was an easy day. Rangi didn’t have much to do, as Yun was training with Jianzhu and Hei-Ran. She stayed around to watch for a little while, but the sight of her mother drilling Yun brought back too many memories of the academy. She knew Kyoshi had been sent a while ago to go bring the mansion back some pickled kelp, but it had been much longer than it should have taken the girl. Frowning, Rangi set off to find her, and find her she did, in the middle of yet another scrape. Rangi knew the offending villagers by reputation, both from what she heard around the compound and what she heard directly from Kyoshi. They had earthbended the jar right out of Kyoshi’s grasp, holding it above her while they taunted her for not being able to retrieve it. From the looks of it, she’d arrived just in time, as the girl in charge moved in on Kyoshi as if to strike her. Knowing Kyoshi would never hit back, Rangi sighed, and charged directly into the situation. She sorted the girl Aoma out quickly enough, but as the Earthbender turned to leave, she shot the jar of kelp straight up into the air. Rangi froze, but remembered Hei-Ran’s wish that she memorize the staff directory to always know who was around the Avatar at all times.</p>
<p>“Catch it.” She looked at Kyoshi but only saw panic reflected back at her. “Use earthbending and catch it.”</p>
<p>“I can’t.” Kyoshi looked terrified, and for good reason. The jar was the last one left in the village and Auntie Mui needed it for the planned dinner tonight.</p>
<p>Rangi was furious. “What do you mean you can’t? The staff ledger has you listed as an Earthbender! Catch it! Do the thing with her hands like she did!” Rangi wasn’t an earthbender, and disliked the inelegant style of bending, but she did her best to recreate the stance Aoma had used in the hope that Kyoshi could copy it. But Kyoshi didn’t copy her, instead choosing to tackle her to the ground instead. Rangi froze underneath the bigger girl. She’d never been this close to Kyoshi. She’d never realized how much she wanted to be. The realization terrified and exhilarated her at the same time, but the fear won out. She scrabbled at Kyoshi, trying to extricate herself. “Get off me, you oaf!” To make matters worse, Kyoshi reached out and helped Rangi to her feet. The extra nearness nearly caused Rangi to turn tail and run. She’d never felt like that before, having been drilled into standing her ground more times than she could count. But here, in this trivial encounter, Rangi felt more scared of anything she had in her life. She hurriedly brushed away Kyoshi and took several steps back, noticing only then that the jar hadn’t fallen to the ground. It hung in the air, earthbent to stay in place. She snuck a glance at Kyoshi, wondering if the girl had lied about not being able to bend, but Kyoshi looked as surprised as she was. Then Rangi noticed the ground, pebbles spilling over each other in their haste to spell out <em>You’re welcome</em>. Rangi knew Yun must have found a break between drills, because his legendary earthbending skills were fully on display.<br/>“He knows we can’t reply, right?” The pebbles kept moving, Yun writing <em>Dumplings, please. Any kind but leek</em>.</p>
<p>Rangi had had enough of the whole situation. Her emotions were playing havoc with her, and she needed to get back to the mansion and focus on her main task, guarding Yun. The newfound feelings she had –<em> and what are those exactly?</em> would have to wait. Kyoshi was late for work, and it was time to get back on schedule.<br/>Her plan to ignore what had happened was quickly thrown into disarray as the two girls walked back to the mansion. She waited and waited for Kyoshi to speak up about the treatment she had just received, but the girl stayed silent. Rangi’s frustration with Kyoshi from the get go had been slowly boiling for years, and it finally spilled over. “It’s pathetic! The way they step on you. You serve the Avatar! Have some dignity!” Rangi cringed inside. Kyoshi was her friend, and was well used to Rangi’s style of friendship. However, with what had just happened earlier, yelling at Kyoshi felt…different somehow. More painful and difficult. Luckily, the girl just smiled.</p>
<p>“I was trying to de-escalate the situation.”</p>
<p>Rangi snapped. She was tired of watching Kyoshi submit to people worth nothing, when she was slowly realizing that Kyoshi meant more to her than she had ever imagined. She tamped down her emotions, the fear washing back over her. Masking it with anger, she yelled “You were going to let them hit you! I saw it! And don’t you try to claim you were doing neutral jing or whatever earthbending hooey! And speaking of your earthbending, you were shown up by a peasant! Haven’t you learned the basics by now? I’ve seen children bend rocks bigger than that jar! You can’t just keep letting them bully you like this. You have to start standing up for yourself! The most efficient course of action would be to surprise the leader alone somewhere and destroy her so messily that it sends a message to the others not to bother you anymore.” Rangi broke off her tirade to whip a glance at Kyoshi, who wasn’t even paying attention. “Are you listening to me?”</p>
<p>Kyoshi was staring at the back of Rangi’s neck. The Firebender blushed slightly, but when Kyoshi reached out and straightened the back of Rangi’s armor, Rangi almost lost control completely. This was unacceptable. She couldn’t function if the slightest touch from the servant girl would send her completely off the side of a ship.</p>
<p>Kyoshi was speaking now. “Why resort to violence? I have strong heroes like you to protect me.”</p>
<p>Rangi almost choked. She covered her distress by making a vomiting sound, knowing Kyoshi wouldn’t pick up on what she was really feeling. All her time at the mansion had been spent protecting Yun, and that was her main purpose, but today had turned her on her head and thrown her world into disarray. She had been friends with Kyoshi for a long time, but this was something new altogether. Rangi knew the path she was standing at the beginning of, and its dangers. It terrified her in a way no other thing had in her fairly short life. To make matters worse, Rangi had no idea how Kyoshi truly felt. She’d seen the looks the girl shot at Yun. She’d also seen the looks Yun shot right back. She loved both her friends and wanted them to be happy, but somehow the thought of Kyoshi and Yun together now had a sour tang. In days past she would have just thought it was because Kyoshi was just a servant and Yun was the Avatar. But now, she found that she was- <em>jealous? No no no, this can’t be happening</em>, Rangi thought to herself. <em>I can’t ever show how I truly feel. She just couldn’t.</em></p>
<p>Without Rangi noticing, the two girls had reached the compound. Against her better judgement, Rangi followed Kyoshi down into the servant’s domain. She just had to see Kyoshi finish her mission. Once the jar was safely out of Kyoshi’s hands, Rangi left, as quickly as she could, back to the barracks to clean her armor and try to make sense of her roiling sea of emotions.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Rangi didn’t know what was happening. Things were spiralling so far out of control, and she had no idea how to bring them back together. First came the crushing blow that Yun was dead, Jianzhu was corrupted, and Kyoshi, her Kyoshi, was the Avatar. Then came the second blow. Kyoshi, who was supposed to be the beacon of peace and light in the world, had willingly gone to <em>daofei</em> and requested their help to kill Jianzhu. Then, to make matters worse, she had sworn <em>daofei</em> oaths to the gang and was now honor bound to help them carry out their <em>daofei</em> mission. It was unthinkable. Rangi wanted to cry. She had come a long way from the fear that overtook her that day in Yokoya when she first realized how she truly felt about Kyoshi. She was better at hiding it now. It was easier since Rangi was sworn to protect the Avatar, because that gave her every excuse she needed to stick close to Kyoshi and keep watch over her. Rangi had come to terms with her feelings. It took her a long time, but she had accepted how she felt, and accepted the pain that came with her love for Kyoshi. At the moment, however, that love was being pushed to the brink. Rangi had studied the role of Avatar for years as part of her training. Kyoshi was straying further and further away from the ideals upheld by every Avatar before her, and it was making Rangi sick. Finally, when the gang they had joined showed her they were subject to even more <em>daofei</em>, she couldn’t take it anymore.</p>
<p>The room they had rented was certainly soundproof enough for the battle she was about to fight. Rangi made everyone leave but Kyoshi, who sat on the floor staring back at her.</p>
<p>“Don’t yell at me.” Kyoshi knew what Rangi was about to say and beat her to the punch. “None of this Autumn Bloom nonsense was in the journal.”</p>
<p>Rangi struggled to keep her frustrations in check, knowing that if she lost control now there would be no going back. “And yet here we are anyway.” Rangi paused, trying to decide what path she should take to convince Kyoshi that what they were doing was an abomination, and worse, tarnishing the girl she loved. She decided to cautiously try explaining what watching the events unfold was doing to her. “Do you know what it’s like, watching you sink deeper into this muck? The last time I checked, the Avatar is supposed to be shaping the world for the good of humans and spirtits, not risking their neck to help daofei!” Well, maybe not so cautiously. Rangi couldn’t stop herself, finally allowing her emotions to reach the surface. “To see you here? It kills me. The fact that you’re stuck here, where no one knows who you truly are, makes me die a little inside with each passing moment. You’re meant to have the best of everything and instead you have this.” Uh oh, thought Rangi. Too close to the truth. She changed tack, going after the Avatar’s reputation instead. “A <em>daofei</em> town! A normal Avatar would have been responsible for wiping this encampment off the face of the earth!”</p>
<p>That blow hit home. She could tell by the way Kyoshi’s face crumpled, just for a second, before reforming harder and colder than she had ever seen it. Rangi hated herself for it., but before she had time to smooth over the words, Kyoshi spoke.</p>
<p>“Rangi. The world waited years for an Avatar. It can wait a little longer. And so can you.”</p>
<p>Rangi covered her face with her hands. She had just wanted to make Kyoshi see what her actions were doing to her, but instead Rangi had hurt her, insulted her, and made her cold and unyielding. But if Kyoshi could play that game, so could she. She had had enough of staying silent while Kyoshi made choices that could only hurt her in future. So she took a breath, calmed herself, rearranged her face, and lowered her hands. “You’re right. After all, I’m <em>just</em> your bodyguard.” She put extra emphasis in the words, trying to gauge Kyoshi’s reaction, but the girl just turned away, and Rangi sighed. One day she would explain everything to Kyoshi, and make her understand just why it hurt her so much to watch Kyoshi take this road. But that would have to wait, because the <em>daofei</em> group had a summons, and she had to make sure Kyoshi stayed as safe as Rangi could keep her.</p>
<p>Uncle Mok was in a barn. Rangi barely had time to scout the area for potential threats before they were whisked inside. Once she was in, she realized the main draw of the night. Hundreds of people thronged inside the open space, surrounding a large wooden platform covered in canvas where two men were in the middle of a battle. Rangi had heard of this.<em> Lei tai</em>. Fighting opponents, with or without bending, to the death. An easy, undignified way to make a statement. Honor had no place in the <em>lei tai.</em> It was an inelegant, clumsy, dishonorable way to fight. Which was exactly why she immediately planned on fighting in it. Kyoshi wasn’t listening to reason. Kyoshi wasn’t listening to her. The only way she could make Kyoshi understand what Rangi was going through was to make Kyoshi go through the same ordeal. Her resolve hardened as the <em>daofei</em> and Kyoshi continued through the crowd to reach Uncle Mok.</p>
<p>Rangi stayed behind. She made her way through the crowd right up to the <em>lei tai</em>. Climbing up on the platform, she stared down the champion in an unspoken challenge. The crowd swelled with interest, ready to watch the grizzled veteran beat the arrogance out of a Firebender. She didn’t stop to check if Kyoshi was watching before taking off her armor. Kyoshi had no choice but to watch. The champion strode forward. “No Firebending allowed. We fight to the death here. Think you can handle it?”</p>
<p>Rangi simply nodded and the fight began. She knew from the start that she could beat the man easily. He was clumsy, inelegant, and slow. Even better, he had no idea what she was capable of. She aimed a quick hit at his leg, just to let him know. The resulting stumble obliterated whatever pity he held for her, and he took a stance. Rangi wasn’t worried. What she was worried about was Kyoshi. Just fighting this fight wasn’t enough. Kyoshi had to understand how helpless Rangi felt. And so, Rangi braced herself. She had to let herself be hit. In the remaining seconds, she looked up at the balcony, searching for Kyoshi. Right as the man leaned back to strike, she locked eyes with the girl, staring her down, showing her the fear. Showing her what it was like to be helpless. And then the strike hit home, and Rangi felt nothing.</p>
<p>She woke up to yelling. The crowd was cheering, and she was on the floor. It could only have been a few seconds, because she wasn’t yet dead. The champion hadn’t finished her off. She considered staying there to really drive her point home to her idiot Avatar, but as the champion moved in, she realized she could hear Kyoshi over the crowd. The girl was screaming, lost in the roar of the crowds to everyone but Rangi, who would have known Kyoshi’s voice anywhere. She smiled grimly, still out of her opponent’s view. Good. She listened. The champion reached her, aiming a kick to break her face. But Rangi didn’t allow it, spinning out from under him and snapping his leg in half. The champion collapsed, and Rangi got up, registering the now dead silence of the crowd. She grabbed her armor and left the platform. It was time to play <em>daofei</em>.</p>
<p>Once she reached the hayloft where Mok and the others stood, Rangi was perfectly composed. The sight of Kyoshi, anxious and disheveled, didn’t even faze her. She had made her point. She answered the question everyone had in as few words as possible. “It seemed like fun.” Rangi could hear the sound of Kyoshi exploding, but refused to look at the girl. Mok seemed impressed at her composure, smiling and initiating dinner. As they ate, Rangi stayed aloof, asking about plans, keeping herself calm. The mission seemed simple enough, just an extraction. In the back of her mind, she knew Kyoshi was angry. The knowledge felt good. She had finally gotten the girl to listen.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Rangi couldn’t wait to get out of that barn. She knew she had to get away from the group, and only hoped that Kyoshi would follow her. She headed down to the lake, needing the coolness of the water to calm the fire still raging inside her. It didn’t take long until she heard Kyoshi climbing toward her. She steeled herself for the conversation to follow. She knew she had had to fight to convince Kyoshi, and she used that knowledge to harden her resolve.</p>
<p>“You want to tell me what that was about? That was a stupid risk!”</p>
<p>Kyoshi was yelling. Rangi had really angered her, and she decided to anger her further. This was her only shot. “Of course it was!” Rangi almost shoved Kyoshi but caught herself. Not yet. “I did exactly what you’ve been doing this whole time! Let me tell you something. I blacked out when I got hit. If I hadn’t woken up, that man would have killed me.” She moved closer to Kyoshi, willing her to understand. “You know what you felt? Watching me lie on the canvas? That helplessness? That sensation of your anchor being cut loose?” <em>Careful, careful. You just need to show her. Don’t slip up now</em>. “That’s what I’ve been feeling watching you since Yokoya! I got on that platform so you could see it from my perspective! I watch you throw yourself headlong into danger over and over again in some misguided attempt to bring Jianzhu to justice. Why do you need to do this so badly?” Rangi was pleading now. The anger in her had faded. She just wanted to know why Kyoshi was putting herself through this, and why it meant so much to her. Why she was throwing away everything for revenge.</p>
<p>Kyoshi snapped. “Because then I don’t have to be afraid of him anymore! I’m scared, alright? I’m scared of him and I don’t know what will make it go away!”</p>
<p>Rangi could have been pushed over by a spirit. Her Kyoshi, her strong, unmovable, giant girl, was scared. Rangi had seen Kyoshi be bullied, sure. But she knew Kyoshi was never afraid of the bullies. Never afraid of anything. Rangi had just needed to know why Kyoshi was so hell bent on revenge, but now that she did, whatever residual anger she had with Kyoshi melted away in the face of what drove her. She started to cry, her short, sharp breaths carrying across to other girl, but Rangi didn’t care. She didn’t care about any of it, in fact. She just wanted Kyoshi to get all that she deserved.</p>
<p>Perhaps it was time to tell her that. Rangi made up her mind. She was fully prepared to admit her feelings, even though she was sure Kyoshi didn’t feel the same way about her. Before, the thought of showing the girl how she felt would terrify Rangi. Now, she felt she had no choice. Kyoshi had never given her a choice. From the early days til now, Rangi would do anything for her oaf of an Avatar. It used to scare her. Now, it energized her. She had to show Kyoshi what she meant to her. What she meant to the world. Kyoshi was fully planning on throwing her life and repuation away in the hope that the daofei life would bring her peace through revenge. Rangi needed to tell her that it shouldn’t have been like this.</p>
<p>“It shouldn’t have gone this way.” Rangi buried her face in her hands.</p>
<p>“I know,” said Kyoshi. “Yun would have been a much better Avatar.”</p>
<p>Rangi lost whatever composure she still had remaining and hit Kyoshi at her collarline. “Forget Yun! It wasn’t supposed to be this way for you! You think you don’t deserve love and happiness, but you do! Not the Avatar Kyoshi, but you!” <em>This is it</em>. She took up the space in front of Kyoshi, grabbing her waist, hiding her face. “Do you know how difficult it has been for me all these years? I watched you from the early days at the compound, when you let those children bully you because you didn’t feel you deserved to fight them off. I watched you on this journey, treating yourself as an empty vessel for revenge. The Avatar can be reborn! But you can’t, Kyoshi. I don’t want to give you up to the next generation. I couldn’t bear to lose you.”</p>
<p>And there it was. Rangi had opened everything. She could only cry, still holding Kyoshi, as everything she had held back for so long tumbled out into the open. She started to pull back.</p>
<p>Kyoshi pulled her in closer.</p>
<p>Rangi could barely believe it. Could it possibly be that Kyoshi…liked her back? She accidentally let out a small sigh, waiting for Kyoshi to let go, but she didn’t. Kyoshi kept holding her. Tentatively, Rangi spoke again. “I wish I could give you your due. The best teachers. Armies to defend you. A palace to live in.” She thought she’d gone too far, but she could hear Kyoshi’s smile.</p>
<p>“I don’t need it. I don’t need an army. I have you.”</p>
<p>Rangi gulped. “A lot of good I’ve been so far. If I were better at my job you would never feel scared. <em>This is everything</em>. Only loved. Adored by all.” Rangi hesitated. She was terrified to look up, to look at Kyoshi’s face and see horror, or disgust. But Kyoshi took her chin and lifted it up, staring down at Rangi like she was the only thing in the world.</p>
<p>“I do feel loved,” Kyoshi declared, and with that, she bent down and kissed Rangi, right on her bruise. Rangi had no idea how much she had so desperately needed Kyoshi to do exactly that, until the pain from her wound brought her back to the real world. She pushed Kyoshi away, laughing as much as she could though the pain. Kyoshi looked shocked and terrified, but Rangi stepped in front of her and embraced her again, feeling so on top of the world that nothing could bring her down. She looked back up at Kyoshi and turned her face to the side. “That side of my face is busted up, stupid.” She had never known she could be so happy. “Kiss me where I’m not hurt.”</p>
<p>And Kyoshi did.</p>
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